When Modi, Macron interact over a cup of tea in India's Jaipur; WATCH

INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi has a knack of having foreign heads of state and government accompany in unique activities in public such as appearing in open cars for roadshows or enjoying popular street food such as golgappas.

On Thursday (25), he was seen in yet another such act in the city of Jaipur in the northern state of Rajasthan. The Indian PM visited a local tea stall with French president Emmanuel Macron, who was in India to be the chief guest at the Republic Day ceremony on Friday (26), and interacted with him. The French leader also paid for the tea through the Unified Payments Interface, India's popular instant payment mode.

Posting a picture of Modi and Macron, who are known to be good friends, on X, the spokesperson of India's ministry of external affairs, Randhir Jaiswal, said, “Connecting over tea & UPI! PM @narendramodi demonstrated simplicity & swiftness of India's UPI payment system to President @EmmanuelMacron by purchasing cups of tea and an Indian handicraft using UPI. Digital cooperation is an important pillar of - partnership."

Read: India fetes Macron at Republic Day celebrations to deepen France ties

Raj Kumar Sahu, owner of the stall where the two leaders sipped tea, told Indian news agency Asian News International, "We served the traditional sahu tea to French president Emmanuel Macron and PM Modi. French president praised our tea and used UPI to make a payment...."

Read: India’s Tata to jointly make helicopters with France’s Airbus

Modi also explained the UPI system to Macron as the two leaders also visited a local shop during their visit to Hawa Mahal, a popular tourist destination in Jaipur.

The Indian PM had announced during his visit to France last July that India and France have agreed to use UPI on French soil and that Indian tourists would be able to make payments in Indian rupees using UPI from atop the Eiffel Tower very soon.

Modi and Macron also took part in a roadshow in Jaipur in the evening where they were welcomed by a large number of people. Both leaders waved at them, acknowledging their warmth. Modi had earlier welcomed Macron after the latter reached the Indian city on a two-day visit.

The two leaders warmly greeted each other and posed for the lensmen before heading for Jantar Mantar, an 18th century solar observatory in Jaipur which had been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2010.